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Tuesday, June 09, 2009

Error in the AP Way

UPDATE 11 June: AP continues to skew reporting to establish bias against natural health care.Proven Quack Stephen Barrett contiues as resource.http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31190909//NB: I post a challenege to AP to contact me to get a list of competent resources.---------------------------------------Associated Press (AP)is an old and once respected news service agency. Today it appears quite often that their standards are not up to the once high level they used to be.

One example of this, in my opinion, is the writing of Marilyn Marchione. She is quite as bad as Carla Johnson in the kind of health writing she does. It's pretty bad because she engages in promoting quite a bit of erroneous information in view of perpetuating the status quo and the medical mainstream mantras.

I've cited her work several times in this blog and added my comments. I just wish she'd fact check, as I mentioned in a letter I wrote Monday to the AP honchos.

While I do believe there is concern on both sides of the spectrum: allopathic v natural, I also know that it is not quite a good thing to tell the public that natural is bad and medicine is good. That in itself is bias. Reporters aren't supposed to be biased in their writing.

In her article today Marchione again relies on Quackwatch as a good resource when it has been debunked and proven to be a fraud in many courts across the country.

She also cites dietitians as a good source of nutritional information. It is sad Marchione fails to understand that dietitians are funded and pretty much educated by USDA mandates and they are not nutritionists. There is a vast chasm between what dietitians put out and sound nutrition information. Look for my article here about the food pyramid scam and you will see why.

No one can get sound nutrition from food today no matter how "balanced" your diet is.

Marchione also refers back to her fallacious reporting on the vitamin studies.

Vitamin E as she says may thin the blood (no need for coumadin with vitamin E or Natto, garlic or several other good blood thinners with the science behind them) but it is also protective against colon cancer because it is an oxygen promoting vitamin.

She fails to state that beta carotene does not work well without the presence of vitamin A.

She does not in any case cite the devastation from chemo and radiation and the known fact that cancer therapy as we know it is about 1-3 % effective. People do die from chemo and radiation so it is no different than using another approach.

She is also wrong about Laetrile and the hype surrounding it. Laetrile is similar to B17, based on the proanthocyanidins found in seeds. There are not cyanide compounds that will kill you These are naturally occurring proanthocyanidins that nature creates to protect seeds from pestilence so they propagate It has been shown that these compounds do not attack healthy cells, they attack only cancer cells.

No where does she interview anyone knowledgeable in the use of natural therapies or orthomolecular supplementation.

And she doesn't even tell you that coffee enemas were part of the US medical standards in the National Formulary until 1972.

So here again are just a few examples of how the press spins data to stay with the standard line.

You just have to be smart enough to find good resources to help you sort it all out.

That's just what we try to do here at Natural Health News and on our other sites and blogs.

We believe our consultation fees are affordable and we do offer sliding scale and some scholarships. And we know of many who have used our services who are healthy and well today, having recovered from cancer and other illnesses.

Education may save your life. Your choice of health or medical care is your right.

The AP also would like you to believe that asking a doctor about supplements is good advice. Sadly the vast majority of doctors have no concept of supplements let alone knowledge. They seem of late to know little about the drugs they prescribe as well.

They want you to know if there are adverse effect reports but don't mention the obstacles to report adverse effects of Rx drugs which kill thousands yearly and the concern that doctors too often brush off your complaints.

Today AP reports on the corporate take over of the supplement industry. This takeover to control the marketplace and to limit access to supplements while in many cases lowering the quality and efficacy has been on-going since 1980, perhaps earlier. The difference now is that drug makers want you to be able ONLY to get Rx drugs, nothing else. That record isn't too good for Big Pharma so it is a risky idea at best. For more on this see www.nocodexgenocide.com AP article - http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090609/ap_on_bi_ge/us_med_unproven_remedies_business_2

The federal Food and Drug Administration does not analyze the content of dietary supplements, which do not need proof of safety or effectiveness before they go on sale. Here are tips from the government on their use:

_Don't self-diagnose a health condition or substitute a supplement for medicine.

_Ask your doctor before taking a supplement, especially if you are pregnant, taking other medicines or are having surgery soon.

_Request proof from the manufacturer or distributor to back up any claims.

_Ask the seller or manufacturer for information on tests showing safety or effectiveness of ingredients, and whether consumers have complained of adverse events.

_Look for "seals of approval" from independent groups that have standards to help ensure the product was properly made, contains what the label says, and is free of contaminants. These groups include Consumerlab.com, NSF and the U.S. Pharmacopeia.

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